Grain feeder and conveyer



B. S. CONSTANT. GRAIN FEEDER AND OONVEYEE.

(No Model.)

No. 588,815. Patentd 11g. 24,1897;

cfmzatozz- .Bosran/ 6. UONSTHNT, Jay efitiioz'aeym Wmsee: fim.%wm I 9.9. WM

UNITED STATES PATENT: OFFICE.

nos'rou s. CON T NT; F BLOOMI'NGTON, ILLINOIS.

GRAIN FEEDEfi AND, CONVEYER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 588,815, dated August24, 1897.

' Application filed August 19, 1896- Serial No. 603,170. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Boston S. CONSTANT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bloomington, in the-countyofMcLean and State of- Illinois,have invented certainnewand useful Improvements in Grain Feeders andConveyors; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to the details of the construction and to thegeneral arrangement of conveying and feeding mechanism for elevators;and it consists of certain combinations of devices and elements wherebythe various parts may be constructed at a factory and advantageouslyassembled and connected with elevators both in equipping new and oldplants, as will be more fully described hereinafter.

My object is to provide an economical conveyer and feeder which may becheaply constructed and by simply varying the length of the endlessconveyer to suit any required size of bin or elevator render itadapt-able to c any of the various demands for such appliance. WViththis end in view my apparatus is of few parts, readily applied byunskilled workmen, and may be'transported incompact packages ready forsetting up in place.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l repre sents a side vie-w of mydevice in connection with so much of an elevator-bin as will illustrateits application. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of bin on the line y yof Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 aredetail views of the deflector andsprocket-wheels.

In the drawings, A designates a grain store house or bin having alongitudinal partition I), divided at the lower part, forming twopartitions m' and n, resting upon a floor d d, which slopes from eachside of the main structure toward .the center in V shape. The partitionsthus form two compartments a and a, which are divided into any desirednumber of smaller bins or compartments 1 2 3 4 by transverse partitions.The partitions m and n being constructed with their bases sepabevelgear-wheel.

rated provide a hallway C, and sliding doors or gates B B. beingarranged in the partitions provide a passage or. gateway frpm, each ofrately. Gate BiniFig 2 is represented as down and closed, while B isopen. They may be operated by any suitable arrangement of connectingropes or rods and levers.

At the center of the hallway,running its entire length, is a channel D,depressed below the floor and open at its top, in which the drag orendless conveyer M runs, carrying the grain away from the bins andfeeding it into any desired receptacle or to a corn-sheller,(represented by E.) The endless conveyer returns, preferably, below thefioor, running around'a sprocket-wheel J at the farther end of thechannel. This sprocket -.wheel is mounted in a forked hanger K, which isadjustably attached to suitable timbers, so that by means of anysuitable screws or lever arrangement it is used as a slack-adjuster forthe chain.

I construct the operative .parts in the factory, providing a suitableframe 0 h, mounting thereon a shaft having a sprocket-wheel H fordriving the conveyer and a suitable This frame may be set upindependently or connected to the frame E of-the sheller E. I provide adetached shaft Gr, having at one end a bevel gear-wheel suited to engageand drive the gear-wheel on the mounted shaft. The shaft G is driven byany desired connection with the motive power of the plant. 'It issupplied with journalboxes to be anchored to any suitable support athand.

To the frame 0 h is attached a sprocketwheel 1', provided with adeflector P, suitably attached,to deflect the grain fromthesprocketwheel 1' and prevent clogging it. A sprocketwheel L isprovided and suitably mounted at one side of the sheller, over which thechain runs in its return. I also mount a' wheelH to support the chain Mwhere it enters the return channel R. The grain after passing throughthe sheller is conducted down through a chute 6 into a sink F, fromwhich it is taken by a suitable elevator.

It will be understood that the various parts can be cheaplymanufactured, are portable, and easily erected and connected whereverrequired, and have a great advantage over such appliances as arespecially designed for each particular structure and over those of moreelaborate and cumbersome design, both of which require skilled mechanicsto erect them.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The combination of the bin having the sloping floor and the openchannel at the center thereof, and the central partition having theparallel sloping partitions connecting therewith and resting upon saidfloor, the transverse partitions dividing said bin into smallercompartments, and slidable doors arranged in each of said parallelpartitions to communicate with a hallway between said parallelpartitions above said channel of the frame carrying the drivingsprocket-wheel suitably mounted; the sprocket-Wheel mounted below saiddriving-wheel; the deflector mounted on said frame; the end wheelsupported below said frame adjacent to the ground; the slack-adjustingsprocket-wheel supported at the rear end of said channel; the idlersprocket-wheel supported in the return-channel, and the drag or endlessconveyer running over said sprocket-wheels, substantially as and for thepurposes shown and described.

2. In a grain elevator and conveyer, in combination with a bin providedwith sloping floors and sprocket-chain running in a channel, of theframe h; the frame 0, the frame E, the sprocket-wheel H, the shaft Gprovided with a bevel-gear and operating said sprocket II, thesprocket-wheel 2', the chain M operating said sprockets, the deflector Psituated in front of said wheel a, the sprocket-Wheel L and a suitablecorn-sheller all arranged and operating substantially as shown anddescribed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

BOSTON S. CONSTANT.

Witnesses:

E. '1. SILVIUS,

JNo. S. THURMAN.

